


Look Not with the Eyes

by Geritashipper123



Series: Geordi'verse [1]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Alternate Universe, Blind!Ianto, Blindness, First Kiss, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, No underage, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 12:28:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18410645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geritashipper123/pseuds/Geritashipper123
Summary: In which Ianto and Jack meet in a very different way, and have different lives because of this fact.





	Look Not with the Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first fic in a much larger series, yay me. I have no idea where all this inspiration came from but I enjoyed writing this. It's... not great but I promise other fics in this au will be better and more detailed
> 
> oh, and if you're wondering how Ianto graduated at 16... he obviously skipped a year.
> 
> Dedicated with thanks to Frostedej, who was there for the conception of this au.

**_October 1991_ **

“Harkness!” 

Jack rolled his eyes as he marched up the stairs to Alex’s office. Alex Hopkins wasn't a terrible boss, but,  _ god,  _ patience was not one of his virtues. He knocked once and then stuck his head in.

“Yes, boss?”

“Just got a report about a kid at Royal Gwent. Same symptoms as the other victims of those parasites.” 

“A kid?” Jack frowned. They’d been combating a slew of alien parasites for weeks, but all the victims had been adults who were recovering fine. Who knew how a kid would react?

“Eight years old,” Alex replies grimly, “and he’s already in late stages. Those idiots at the hospital didn’t think to call until two days had passed. I want the parasite out and the kid retconned.”

Jack’s frown deepened, “Alex, you know retcon isn’t safe under-“

“I’m not letting a kid remember the alien parasite that invaded his head, Harkness. Now  _ go.” _

Alex chucked him the file like a frisbee, and Jack caught it with a sigh, saluting and walking out, grabbing his coat and the SUV keys on the way. The parasites were killed with massive amounts of ultraviolet radiation being shown directly into the victims' eyes.  _ A bit like Star Trek,  _ he thought with a grin- he couldn’t wait to see Rose again and tell her he got her references now. 

He drove to the hospital, glancing at the files at red lights. 

Like Alex had said, the kid was eight years old. Some estate brat whose parents were probably losing their jobs to keep him in the hospital. 

Jack grumbled a little- he hated working cases with kids ever since Lucia left and took Melissa with her.

_ No, it was Alice now. Alice Carter. Not the name he had gotten to put on the birth certificate, but the name on the witness protection papers.  _

Jack pushed the car a little faster, hoping that driving like a maniac would make him less  _ angry.  _ He did want to help this poor kid- the parasite settled on the optic nerves, causing extreme amounts of pain, and after two days the brat was probably going insane.

Jack parked the car and climbed out. He flashed his torchwood ID at the desk to get the room number, and then went up to room 526, pediatric ward. 

There was a woman leaning over the bed, clutching her rosary beads and rocking. A teenage girl sat next to her, looking bored. They both looked at him when he walked in. 

“Hi miss, my name is Dr. Mickey Tyler, I’m a specialist sent by Torchwood,” Jack said brightly, and the woman- probably the boy’s mother- frowned at him. 

“Glenda Jones. Torchwood?” She asked

“The doctor called me in,” Jack said, smiling gently at her and flashing his ID. “If you give me five minutes, I think I know what’s wrong with your son.” 

The woman blinked, then nodded and stood up, taking the girl’s hand. “C’mon Rhiannon.”

“Why doesn’t he have a lab coat?”

“Hush Rhiannon, he’s going to get the demon out of your brother.” 

The pair walked out, and Jack sighed. Christ, what he wouldn’t give for some psychic paper. 

He walked over to the bed, looking down at the kid. “Your mom doesn’t seem quite right in the head if you ask me,” he commented. 

The kid didn’t reply. He had a bunch of curly hair on his head, and his cheeks were flushed. His eyes were squeezed shut and his breathing was labored. According to the monitors, the kid had a 39.5-degree fever, and his heart rate was elevated. He looked at the chart. 

“Ianto Jones, huh? Welsh, so very Welsh. Alright then Ianto, open those peepers…”

He pulled the ultraviolet penlight out of his pocket, and forced open Ianto’s left eye, making him scream when the light hit it, then he quickly did the same to the right. 

Blood immediately started gushing out of the kid’s nose, and the worm-like parasite slid out, shriveled up, and died. Jack had just enough time to grab it and stuff it in a plastic barf bag and into his pocket before the boy’s mother and a nurse ran back in. 

“Ifan!” Glenda Jones shrieked. The nurse glared at him, “who are you?!”

“Torchwood,” Jack replied. He pointed at the monitor, where the temperature and heart rate were already dropping to normal levels. The bleeding was stopping from his nose. 

“Ifan?” Glenda asked, and the nurse went over. “Ianto? Can you hear me?”

Jack grinned and started to walk out- mission accomplished, now he just had to retcon and- 

“I can’t see.” Ianto suddenly croaked in a low voice. “Mam I can’t SEE!” 

Jack froze in the doorway as the kid started to scream. Then he ran. 

 

* * *

 

He was sitting in the driver’s seat of the SUV when Alex pulled up six hours later. He shot him a glare “took you long enough!”

“The kid’s not dying anymore, Jack, this isn’t really a priority.” Alex sighed, shaking his head. “This is a fucking mess is what this is. Are we sure it’s not temporary?”

“They gave him a CAT scan. The damage to the optic nerves is visible.” Jack replied bitterly. Alex shrugged “Jenny thinks that if the parasite is in a host too long it starts secreting acid when removed. We must’ve just been too late.”

“That kid’s never gonna see again!”

“That kid is  _ alive,  _ Jack. Now we’ll retcon the family, give some story to the hospital staff. But I want you to do the kid.”

“Why?!” Jack snapped, and Alex glared at him. “At this moment? To teach your arse a lesson. But more than that, the kid will probably recognize you. Just slip him the retcon, Jack.”

Jack sighed and went back inside. It was quieter now, with visiting hours over and people asleep. 

He walked quietly back into Ianto’s room, it was darkened but he could see it was empty except for the kid. 

“Who’s there?” He asked, voice quivering with fear. Jack shifted. “I’m the Doctor, from earlier?”

“Oh.” Ianto shifted on the bed. “You made the pain stop. Thank you.” 

Jack’s heart clenched. He was only eight years old, he was so  _ young…  _

“Sorry,” Jack said awkwardly, “about your eyes. That was an unintended side effect.”

“It’s fine,” Ianto said, shrugging. “I can be like daredevil now!”

“Daredevil?”

“Matthew Murdock. He’s a blind lawyer superhero called daredevil from hell’s kitchen, in America. My best mate Dex has a bunch of his comics. He uses his advanced senses to fight crime.”

Jack smiled a bit. “Yeah. You’ll be just like Daredevil, kid.” 

He thought about the Retcon in his pocket, then sighed and said “you be nice to your sister, okay? And listen to your mom and dad? Let them help you, you’ve got some learning to do before you can be a lawyer-slash-superhero.” 

Ianto smiled at him, his bottom tooth missing. “Thank you, Doctor Tyler.”

Jack left with the retcon still in his pocket. 

 

* * *

 

**_September 1992_ **

Ten months later, he couldn’t get Ianto Jones out of his head.

He knew he should have retconned the kid, let him forget the pain. He wondered how he was adjusting to being blind. 

He figured there was no harm in checking up. Just from afar. 

He looked up the Jones’ address, their estate home in Newport. He drove there during a lull in the rift. 

He parked at the corner two doors down from their house. He watched a little boy with sunglasses, a cane, and a mop of curly hair walk up the street. 

What Jack didn’t expect was for the kid to walk past the house, and right up to the side of the SUV. Jack stared as the kid stopped and looked up at him. He rolled down the window. 

“Dr. Tyler. I’m listening to my Mam, promise.” 

“How’d you know I was here?” Jack asked, frowning. He purposefully hadn’t come to the door, knowing how any reasonable parent would react to a 40-year-old taking a special interest in their kid. 

“I just knew.” Ianto shrugged “and I know it’s you. I never forget a voice, Mrs. Phelps at school says I have a pho-no-graph-ic memory.” 

“That’s a pretty big word for an eight-year-old,” Jack commented, and Ianto scowled up at him. “I’m nine now!” 

“And you walk home by yourself?” 

Ianto flushed, looking away. “Tad’s always at the Pub by now, and Rhiannon’s got her friends. It’s not far.” 

“What about your mom?”

Ianto ducked his head, kicking a rock. 

“Mam’s at providence park again. She has late onset schizo… stickso…”

“Schizophrenia?” Jack asked, surprised. He’d thought the woman who thought her son had demons in him and didn’t question a strange doctor in a greatcoat was odd, but he didn’t think she was  _ ill.  _

Ianto nodded at him. “She’s home sometimes. She’s not now.”

“I figured,” Jack frowned, “are you alright?” 

Ianto looked a little panicked, “please don’t do what your thinking and call the police, Tad will get angry and it won’t pan out!” 

“How do you know?” Jack argued, already reaching for the phone. 

“I just know! The same way I know you haven’t aged a day since the hospital!” 

Jack froze.

Ianto swallowed. “I just know things sometimes. I know when mam’s about to have a bad spell, and I can hear a song in my sister’s head before she starts singing it. I’m sorry, please don’t get mad, I won’t tell your secret!”

“I gotta go,” Jack croaked, and took off, leaving the kid standing on the corner. 

Great. The alien parasite had left some poor kid with telepathic abilities, and Jack couldn’t tell Alex because Alex would ask why Jack didn’t retcon him when ordered.  _ Great. _

 

* * *

 

**_July 1995_ **

“Y’know, people are gonna think your a Pedo one of these days.” 12-year-old Ianto Jones said, all scabby knees and gangly limbs. 

Jack rolled his eyes at him. “If you stopped approaching the SUV every time I came to check on you, they won’t.” 

Ianto grinned “where’s the fun in that, Captain Harkness?” 

Jack rolled his eyes and handed him the comic book he’d brought. “Here. Daredevil.”

“I prefer Geordi LaForge these days. Comics are a bit hard for me to read.” Ianto said, leaning against the SUV. “Star Trek's cooler.”

“I have a friend who’d agree with you on that.” Jack sighed. “Anything new happening? Visions of the apocalypse, words from the gods, hearing __ thoughts constantly?”

“Nope,” Ianto replied, popping the P. “Just the standard occasional feeling. You’re louder than others you know.” 

“Yeah…” 

Ianto grinned “almost as loud as Janet.” 

Jack smirked at him. “Ooh, Janet. Girlfriend?”

Ianto’s nose scrunched up. “Ew, no. Janet’s just my friend.” 

“You youngsters are so adorable at this age,” Jack sighed, and Ianto grinned “you’d know, being 437.”

“Wrong again,” Jack said, chuckling at this month’s guess at his age. Ianto had a different number for him every month since Jack had started doing the checks, making sure Ianto wasn’t shattering windows with his brain or whatever. 

Something darted around in the corner of his eye, and Jack glanced over and paled.

“Ianto I have to go,” Jack said, and Ianto frowned, moving so he wasn’t leaning against the SUV. “Jack? What’s-“

Jack took off before he could finish. There was a  _ weevil,  _ in  _ Newport.  _ What the heck was a weevil even  _ doing _ in Newport, they mostly stuck to Cardiff. 

He parked the SUV at the end of a dead end street and jumped out, running into the woods and after it. 

The weevil cornered him by a tree, tackling him to the ground and snarling. Jack tried to reach for the weevil spray but was interrupted by-

“Janet, no! Off!” 

_ Ianto?! _

The weevil obediently rolled off of him and went over to Ianto, crouching down next to him. Jack propped himself up on his elbows just in time to see Ianto pat it on the head.

“Jack, meet Janet. Janet, Jack.”

The weevil growled lowly, and Jack gaped. “Ianto, you know that-“

“Janet’s an alien, yeah.” 

“You- you can communicate with it?”

“The species is apparently telepathic, and  _ she  _ is quite smart,” Ianto said defensively. “She likes raw chicken. She stays out of sight and doesn’t hurt anyone and she warns me when I’m about to walk into a busy street. Like a seeing-eye dog.”

“She’s a weevil!”

“A seeing-eye weevil then.”

“You say that like your keeping her.” 

“I  _ am  _ keeping her.”

“No way in hell are you keeping the weevil.”

By the time Jack left, Ianto was keeping the weevil.

 

* * *

 

**_March 1997_ **

 

It wasn’t Jack’s normal visit day, but he was still driving like a maniac to get to Newport. There had been a Hoix sighting. 

He knew Janet would try and keep Ianto safe, but they’d never tested who would win in a fight, Hoix or weevil, and Janet, while still fearsome, had become horribly lazy with Ianto constantly spoiling her. 

He spotted the Hoix and swerved to go after it. It  _ was  _ headed for the estate, which was bad, but Jack would stop it. 

He’d grown far far  _ far  _ too fond of Ianto Jones not to. 

Jack ended up chasing the Hoix through the streets on foot, glad that it was rainy and the middle of the night. No one would notice gunshots in the middle of the night in this neighborhood. 

Finally, the Hoix was wounded and stopped. Jack paused, resting his hands on his knees and panting. 

“Jack?” 

Jack gulped down some air and turned, seeing Ianto standing a few feet away, with Janet next to him with her perception filter collar on. 

“Hey, you two. Don’t mind me, just taking care of-“

Then there were sharp claws in his back, and then there was nothing. 

 

* * *

 

He came back with a loud intake of air and heard Ianto shriek. 

“What the fuck  _ what the fuck you were dead!” _

Janet howled at the sound of Ianto’s panic, and Jack sighed, sitting up slowly. The Hoix was dead and Janet had blood on her teeth. 

“Okay, Okay, calm down! Ianto!” 

Ianto stopped panicking and faced Jack, sunglasses off and tears spilling out of clouded eyes. 

“Ianto, you know how I’m really old?”

“You won’t say how old,” Ianto sniffed, and Jack nodded. “Well, I don’t  _ just  _ not age.”

The rain was soaking them both to the bone, and as Ianto and Janet helped jack load the Hoix in the SUV, Jack told them his story. 

 

* * *

 

He took Ianto to the nearest 24 hour stop and shop to get him a coffee. They sat in the SUV, drinking quietly. 

“Why were you out there tonight?” Jack asked, and Ianto shrugged. “Tad kicked me out again. He’s been a right terror since Rhia moved out. I felt you coming and headed for you.” 

“How can you always sense me?” Jack sighed, and Ianto shrugged again.

“So… until this Doctor of yours comes… you outlive  _ everyone.”  _ Ianto said. “Will you keep visiting me until I die?”

“I mean, that’s kinda the plan,” Jack said, sighing. “I gotta make sure you’re not going all Carrie on everyone.” 

Ianto snorted. “Please, if I was gonna kill people I would already have killed my Tad and the twats at school who think it’s funny to grab my cane.” 

The pair shared a humorless chuckle, and then Ianto said “Jack? Does Torchwood require vision?”

“Don’t even think about it,” Jack said, and Ianto sighed. “C’mon, Jack, I have aliens for best friends. What else am I gonna do with my life?”

“What happened to superhero lawyer?” Jack asked innocently, and Ianto sent him a glare that was far too fierce for a blind man. “I’m not eight anymore. Be serious. My grades are mediocre, my Tad’s a broke drunk, Mam’s a nutter. I’m never gonna get off the bloody estate, Jack.” 

“You’ve got two more years of school,” Jack said, shaking his head. “You don’t have to worry about this yet.”

Ianto sighed and flopped back against his seat. Janet groaned sympathetically behind them.

“Where are you sleeping tonight? I’ll drive you.” Jack asked, and Ianto shook his head. “I’ll walk, thanks.” 

He climbed out and whistled, and Janet climbed out after him. Jack wanted to call after him, but he knew he couldn’t. Just like he couldn’t let Ianto come work for Torchwood. 

He’d get himself killed at Torchwood, and Jack didn’t know what he’d do without the consistency of Ianto Jones in his life. The monthly visits were a part of Jack’s routine. Ianto made him smile and laugh and generally feel happier than he did usually. 

He couldn’t let himself get attached. The 21st century was almost there. The doctor would come soon. 

That was the other reason he couldn’t let Ianto Jones get too close. It would be all to easy for Jack to fall for him. 

 

* * *

 

**_August 1999_ **

This time, Ianto came to him the day Jack was supposed to go check on him. He planted himself on the Plass and waited. 

Jack spotted him on the cameras and sighed, going up. This was inevitable, Ianto had been bugging him all summer. 

Jack took the lift up and walked over to the bench where Ianto was sitting. 

He tossed a hastily wrapped package in his lap. “Happy belated birthday.” 

“I’m sixteen now, Jack,” Ianto said without missing a beat.

“Open your present.”

“I graduated.”

“Ianto, open it.” 

Ianto sighed and ripped open the packaging, then the box. 

“A new jacket, thanks,” Ianto said, and he meant it, Jack could tell. Jack sat next to him. “Look under the jacket.” 

Ianto felt around, then pulled out the manila envelope. 

“That is your acceptance to the University of Roehampton,” Jack said. 

Ianto gaped at him. “I didn’t  _ apply  _ to university.” 

“I did. On your behalf.”

“You’re not my bloody father.”

“Yeah, but your father wasn’t gonna.”

“I don’t have the money to go to London, Jack.”

“I do. Torchwood does. That’s what else is in that envelope. You want to work for Torchwood so badly, fine. But you’ll be in London. And you’re getting a degree while you do.”

“Why the  _ fuck  _ do I have to go to London?” Ianto snapped. “My whole life is in Wales, I live and breathe Wales. I’m about as Welsh as you can get. All my friends are here,  _ you’re  _ here-“

“You have to go to London,” Jack repeated, not looking at him and knowing that if he did he’d break. 

_ “Why?” _ Ianto repeated. 

_ Because if you come to work with me I’ll never be able to let you go.  _ “Because I was supposed to retcon you almost ten years ago.”

“You’re lying to me.” Ianto accused, and Jack sighed. “Look, Ianto, you don’t get a choice here, Okay? You wanted a way off the estate, there’s your ticket, already paid for. Take it or leave it.”

Ianto glared at him, furious. “You’re a  _ dick,  _ Jack Harkness. You want me to go to London? Fine. You want me to uproot my entire life, everything I’m used to, you want me to memorize new streets and a new flat and a new job and a new school all on my own, just because you want me gone so badly,  _ fine,  _ I’ll go. But don’t expect me to thank you. And  _ don’t  _ come to visit me.” 

And then, Ianto got up and walked away, angry. 

Jack leaned back so he head hung against the bench and he was looking up at the sky. 

“This is for the best,” he said aloud. “I’m doing this for you, doc. You’d better fix me.” 

 

* * *

 

**_January 2000_ **

It was three days after the new year and the complete destruction of Torchwood, and Jack was still a complete mess. 

He might not have been super close with the rest of the team, what with people constantly flitting in and out as people died and were hired, but he’d like them. He’d liked  _ Alex  _ and Alex had gone stark-raving mad. 

He’d cleaned up the bodies, done all the paperwork, washed the floors and destroyed the necklace Alex had been holding when he…

It was destroyed, that was the point. 

Now he was puttering around the Hub, not knowing what the hell to do. He knew intellectually, he was the boss, he had to hire people, he had to do  _ something,  _ but all he wanted was a hug. He wanted the Doctor to whisk him away in the TARDIS, or Rose to dance with him in whatever way she wanted. He wanted…

Suddenly, he knew where to go.

 

* * *

 

It was almost seven o’clock by the time he pulled up to the flat he paid for but had never seen. He had the spare key, as the one whose name was on the lease. He let himself in, the flat was on the bottom floor. 

He didn’t even have to knock before the door swung open, and Ianto said: “I should kick you off my doorstep-  _ Jack?!” _

His voice went up a few octaves in surprise when Jack fell forward and wrapped him in a tight hug, burying his face in Ianto’s shoulder. 

It was  _ really  _ strange that Ianto’s arms felt like home.

“Jack, are you okay?”

“No,” Jack muttered, and Ianto sighed. “C’mon, I think you should come in.”

 

* * *

 

Jack was curled up on Ianto’s couch, watching him move around the kitchen. Ianto was wearing his socks, and he kept bumping into the counter. Five months and he still wasn’t adjusted to the flat, Jack felt unbearably guilty. 

Ianto had always been skinny, the consequence of being from a poor family, but he had never been  _ gaunt.  _ And he looked exhausted. 

Ianto came in with a coffee mug, stumbling a little on the spot where the rug met hardwood. Janet whined from her corner behind the couch. Jack didn’t even question her presence anymore- he’d known that anywhere Ianto went Janet would follow. 

“So they’re all just gone? Here, drink.” Ianto handed him the cup, sitting down. Jack sighed “yeah, all of them.”

He took a sip from the cup, then swallowed and said “Wow. how’d you learn to make  _ this?” _

“Trial and Error,” Ianto said with a shy smile.

“How’d you know how I like it?”

Ianto shrugged “I just-”

“Just knew, right,” Jack said, nodding. 

“I used to make coffee for my Tad a lot. The new machine was hard to learn, my early cups were crap.” Ianto said, leaning back on the couch. Jack looked down. 

“Ianto I am  _ sorry,”  _ he said softly, “I should never have uprooted your life. I was just… trying to keep you safe. Torchwood isn’t safe, just look at me!” 

“Exactly,” Ianto said softly. “You die constantly, Jack. I know the risks. I wanted to help anyway. I wanted to help  _ you  _ specifically. You’re kinda important to me.”

“You’re-” Jack looked at his hands, then at Ianto, “You’re kinda important to me too. I- come back to Cardiff? Come work for me?”

Ianto blinked at him, then huffed and crossed his arms. “Oi, my life here’s not so terrible. I mean, school’s hard. And I get lost. And Hartman doesn’t pay me or have a braille printer, but-”

“Wait, back up,” Jack said, putting the cup down. “Torchwood’s not paying you?”

Ianto suddenly became very interested in a loose string on his shirt sleeve.

_ “Ianto,”  _ Jack asked, growing angry. 

“I got the job as an archivist, but they don’t print files in braille, so I was demoted to a gopher, but I get lost, so they call me an intern and give me college credit,” Ianto said quickly, shaking his head. “It’s fine.”

“No, it isn’t.” Jack said, rubbing his shoulder, “Ianto, that isn’t okay at all. Come back to Cardiff. Transfer to Cardiff University, work for me.”

“Really?” Ianto asked softly, and Jack grinned at him, “Where else would I get such delicious coffee?”

Ianto shoved him, and Jack chuckled. 

“Look, It’s sucked not having you around. I… I don’t actually know why I’m so attached to you…” Jack chuckled, and Ianto blushed. “Actually… that’s probably my fault.”

Jack blinked at him, and Ianto picked at his sleeve again. “I… I have learned a bit, at Torchwood. About telepathy? About… bonds.”

Jack stared at him. “Ianto, are you saying-”

“I didn’t mean to,” Ianto whispered, “I didn’t mean to I swear, the people at the office think it probably happened when I was a kid, I’ll learn how to remove it if you want-”

“Hey, hey…” Jack soothed, noticing he was starting to panic. “It’s okay. We’re okay. Do you want to remove it?”

“No,” Ianto said honestly. “I like having you around. It’s like you make me warm. That’s how I always know where you are. I’m not strong enough that I’ll ever be able to read your thoughts.” 

“Especially since I know how to shield,” Jack agreed. “Look… I’m fine with it. As you said, it’s… comfortable.” He took Ianto’s hand. “Come back to Cardiff with me. Please.”

Ianto looked in his direction for a moment, then smiled warmly at him and nodded. 

“Janet! We’re going home!” Ianto called, and Janet let out a loud growl, making Jack laugh brightly. 

It would all be okay. 

 

* * *

 

**_December 2003_ **

“Have a great Christmas, Tosh. You too, Suzie!” Ianto called as the girls left, puttering around the ground floor of the HUB, cleaning up the remains of the Christmas party they’d thrown. Jack watched him from his office, bouncing excitedly. It was Christmas eve, and he couldn’t  _ wait  _ to give Ianto his present. 

He waited until the doors closed, then walked down the stairs. “Ianto, you’re working too hard again!”

“So noted, sir!” Ianto replied, and Jack grinned, stopping next to him. “You can drop the sir, Yan, we’re alone.” 

Ianto smiled warmly back at him. “Jack, you still coming over for dinner?”

“And miss Chinese and the Christmas story? I would never.” Ianto laughed, and Jack sighed dramatically and said: “one of these days,  I’ll get you to let me make you a real meal.”

“Chinese on Christmas is a valued Harkness Jones Tradition,” Ianto argued. “It’s our third year doing this, don’t ruin it for me.”

“I would never,” Jack promised, “but…”

Ianto frowned at him, “but?”

Jack grinned. “But your Christmas gift has to be given at the HUB.”

He took Ianto’s hand and slid a ring onto his middle finger. Ianto went red “jack?”

“There’s a reason, promise.” Jack chuckled, “close your eyes.” 

Ianto gave him that raised eyebrow look that meant he was calling Jack on his bullshit. “I’m blind, Jack. Remember that?”

“Like you’d let me forget,” Jack shot back. “Now close your eyes, you insubordinate brat.” 

Ianto snorted but closed them. Jack crossed to stand behind him, keeping a hand on Ianto’s shoulder so he knew where he was. Gently he removed Ianto’s old comm unit headset. “Alright, stay still.”

He slid the modified one into place and warned “this might pinch” before he switched it on. 

Ianto flinched as the arm on the receiver flipped forward and settled against his temple, then reached up to run his fingers along it. 

“My Christmas present is a ring and a bulkier comm unit that runs up to my temple.” Ianto said, “uh, thanks.”

Jack chuckled. “Open your eyes.”

Ianto did, then gasped and squeezed them shut again, rubbing them and opening them again. “I- what the- Jack,  _ what-” _

“What do you see?” Jack asked softly.

“It’s just… outlines. Shapes. It’s…”

“The ring emits sonic waves,” Jack said, “and I placed sonic bouncers around the HUB. The receiver on your head receives and processed them, a bit like echolocation.”

Ianto barked out a hysterical laugh, and Jack grinned. “I wanted to have it ready for your birthday, I’ve been working on repairing that receiver since it fell through the rift a few years ago. It won’t work outside of the HUB but-”

“I don’t care!” Ianto interrupted excitedly. “I can see Tosh’s desk and the stairs and the kitchen…”

“And where am I?” Jack asked, half joking. 

Ianto turned to him, looking at him with a warm smile and eyes brimming with tears. “I’ve never needed help to know where you are.”

Jack smiled, wishing desperately that the sonic equipment would be enough so Ianto could see it. Ianto stepped forward and brushed a hand across Jack’s cheek. Jack leaned into it, into him. He took another step forward. 

“You should stop me now,” Jack said softly, “because if you let me do this I won’t be able to let you go, not ever again.”

“Don’t you  _ dare  _ stop now,” Ianto replied, “and if you try and let me go, I’ll just come back.” 

And then he leaned forward and closed the distance between them. 

The kiss was soft and sweet, and it felt as though everything that had been culminating between them for years was finally dissipating in the eyes of the universe. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come check me out on tumblr www.flamingbluepanda.tumblr.com
> 
> I am LITERALLY broke so hey if you like what I do.... https://ko-fi.com/flamingbluepanda
> 
> Thanks! SEE YA!


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